Excellent writing but I didn't really like or connect with the characters. The protagonist, Undine, is one of the most self-centered, materialistic fictional characters I've ever encountered on the written page. I do still plan to try reading The Age of Innocence, which is Wharton's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Otherwise, I'm generally not a big fan of stories set during the Gilded Age. ( )

This was a tough one. Wharton is such a skilled writer with a keen observant eye for her social milieu, but I really think she missed her mark with Custom. I've had an ongoing argument with my partner about whether this could be considered a feminist work; I think it is one of her few novels that is pointedly anti-feminist, and more socially conservative. By creating the monstrous character of Undine Spragg, who is horrible in such an over-the-top way, Wharton seems to be satirizing the social climbers who are willing to trample on relations and customs in order to achieve material success. The older more established New York families seem to be the only ones who see Undine for what she is, and Ralph Marvell is the only truly good person, a tragic hero whose old ideas of marriage are not able to cope with Undine's need for riches and glory.

Some critics have called the novel a satire on marriage and divorce. Undine is a satirical character in that she is a pure consumption machine who has no character arc - she represents the voracious capitalism of the era that corrupts everyone who touches it. Elmer Moffat is the male counterpart, the crude business genius who confidently knows what he wants, which is more stuff. Everyone else resists Undine's corruption, although it is hinted that her neglected son Paul will eventually succumb to the amoral pursuits of his putative parents. ( )

Ghastly though our anti-heroine is, I found it difficult to put down. The end is a one-page triumph for the authot.
In this edition the editor's asterisks are somewhat irritating, leading to endnotes listed by page number, explaining such things as Pegasus was "the winged horse of the muses", which isn't quite the case! ( )

Edith Wharton was did not like the "new rich" who were taking over New York around the turn of the century, and in "The Custom of the Country" she makes it very clear why. The heroine, Undine Spagg, a midwestern beauty who comes to New York in search of the social advancement she has always craved, is not likeable, but she is VERY compelling. The story traces the ups and downs of her quest for the level of social advancement that will finally make her happy. Along the way, the novel pillories the new rich, and holds the old rich up to a regretful examination. The book is a great read -- you may not like Undine, but you do want to find out what she does next -- and extremely witty. Wharton's ability to turn a phrase was unparalleled. I wish someone would -- could -- write a book like this about today's 1%. ( )

La familia Spragg, que se ha hecho rica en una pequeña ciudad del medio oeste, lleva dos años viviendo en Nueva York sin conseguir abrirse paso en su intrincada maraña de jerarquías sociales. Son "gente corriente" que "aún no había aprendido a avergonzarse de ello". Su hija, Undine, ayudada por su encanto y extraordinaria belleza, logra hacerse un hueco en el gran mundo y despertar su admiración, aunque no tarda en comprender que en él los hombres la ven como "materia de pura carne". Persiguiendo la respetabilidad, se casa con Ralph Marvell, miembro de uno de los más distinguidos clanes de la vieja Nueva York, pero habrá de descubrir que no siempre el buen nombre y el dinero van en el mismo lote. Poco dispuesta a renunciar a ninguna de las dos cosas, el matrimonio se convierte para ella en una carrera, como los negocios o las tierras lo son para los hombres. Un atildado conde francés y un enérgico especulador norteamericano la esperan en el accidentado −a veces trágico− camino de su ascensión.